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COLLEGEVILLE, PA — Although Phil Schmidt was in Virginia Beach on Wednesday, wrapping up details on several new barbecue sauces that will soon debut at his restaurant, he said he was looking forward to helping Collegeville Farmers Market open its fourth season on Saturday.

The owner of Phamous Phil’s BBQ & Grille — recently featured on the Food Network — will be in the back section of Da Vinci’s Pub parking lot all day cooking up smoked apple sausage, pulled pork and burgers.

Sandwiches — washed down with Phil’s homemade lemonade — will make for a tasty, easily portable and much less messy lunch than Phil’s trademark ribs as folks stroll through the market.

Barbecue buffs who crave the restaurant’s specialty can always choose to chow down on the “phamously” meaty smoked ribs at Schmidt’s eatery a couple of miles away in Evansburg.

ATLANTA (AP) – Authorities on Friday arrested a New York man charged with trying to extort money from embattled celebrity cook Paula Deen in exchange for not going to the news media with “true and damning statements” he said she made.

The complaint says Paculis was threatening to go to the media with statements made by Deen unless the former Food Network star gave him $250,000. The complaint does not specify what was in the statements Paculis claimed were made by Deen.

Paculis did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday. A call to a phone number for Paculis found in the criminal complaint rang unanswered. He had his initial court appearance Friday in New York and was released on bond, said FBI Special Agent Stephen Emmett in Atlanta. He has been ordered to appear in federal court in Savannah on July 16.

Retailers Target Corp. and Home Depot Inc. and diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk became the latest companies to sever ties or distance themselves from celebrity cook Paula Deen as fallout builds from revelations that the Southern celebrity chef used racial slurs in the past.

Target, based in Minneapolis, said Thursday that it will phase out its Paula Deen-branded cookware and other items, which were sold on its website and in its stores.

“Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory,” said Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman.

Caesars announced its decision to strip Deen’s name from four of its buffet restaurants, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc. disclosed shortly after its plans to sever ties with the culinary figure. The world’s largest retailer said it will not be placing “any new orders beyond what’s already committed.” The Bentonville, Ark.-based company has carried a range of products under the Paula Deen moniker since 2011.

Smithfield Foods dropped Deen on Monday, while the Food Network announced Friday that it was not renewing Deen’s contract after she had skipped her initial “Today’ show appearance that morning and released a series of apology videos via YouTube that afternoon.

The celebrity chef dissolved into tears during Wednesday’s interview with Matt Lauer as she attempted to explain how she wasn’t a racist- although a deposition filed and leaked last week revealed her use of racial slurs in the past. It was an odd disparity between the Paula Deen known for her cheery, comforting disposition, and the Paula Deen who appeared on the “Today” show, defeated, exhausted and “heartbroken.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The Food Network said Friday it’s dumping Paula Deen, barely an hour after the celebrity cook posted the first of two videotaped apologies online begging forgiveness from fans and critics troubled by her admission to having used racial slurs in the past.

The 66-year-old Savannah kitchen celebrity has been swamped in controversy since court documents filed this week revealed Deen told an attorney questioning her under oath last month that she has used the N-word. “Yes, of course,” Deen said, though she added, “It’s been a very long time.”

The Food Network, which made Deen a star with “Paula’s Home Cooking” in 2002 and later “Paula’s Home Cooking” in 2008, weighed in with a terse statement Friday afternoon.

“Food Network will not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of this month,” the statement said. Network representatives declined further comment. A representative for Deen did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment on the decision.

AMBLER, PA — One local man will be cooking up quite a bit of national attention for the area now that he’s earned a spot as a contestant on a new reality show this summer.

Chad Rosenthal, 37, of Ambler, has been chosen to appear as a contestant on the Food Network’s ninth season of the “Food Network Star” competition, which begins airing Sunday, June 2, at 9 p.m.

Featuring celebrity judge mentors Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis, the show pits 12 contestants against one another in a series of weekly challenges for a chance to earn their own television show on the channel.

Born and raised in Upper Dublin, Rosenthal said he’s putting his hopes for stardom on his highly popular barbecue comfort food-style menu. The owner of the former Rosie’s restaurants in Jenkintown and Ambler said patrons said his face belonged on the small screen.

Chef Alan Pitotti, owner of Hellertown‘s Dolce Patisserie, won $10,000 on the Food Network on Thursday night and proved what his customers already know: He is a sweet genius.

Ron Ben-Isreal, host of the show that’s also called “Sweet Genius,” told Pitotti, “You are like me and belong in my world of desserts.”

It was high praise for Pitotti, who has watched the program since it began and admires Ben-Israel’s work.

But winning that $10,000 wasn’t easy for the pastry chef who revealed a side as sweet as his creations. He told viewers he left a budding career in the pastry world’s limelight to return home to be with his mother after his father died unexpectedly. It has been nearly five years since he began creating extraordinary chocolates and cakes in quiet little Hellertown.

Chef Susan Notter, program director of pastry arts at The Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts and owner of Susan Notter Pastries, will appear on “Cupcake Wars” at 8 p.m. Sunday as a competitor in a special edition episode, “Cake Wars,” which will unite cake makers, sweet specialists and special effect artists.

“We are a locally owned Custom Cake & Cupcake Shop situated in the heart of West Reading in business since 2007. We offer many elegant designs from which to choose, and we also specialize in working with you to create a completely new design with your own personality, ideas and flair.

We will guide you in selecting a cake that suits your personal style and budget and above all, we promise to deliver a fresh, delicious, cake that tastes as good as it looks.

Our business is fully licensed by the State of Pennsylvania and a proud member of the International Cakes Exploration Societe (ICES). ”

Ady Cakes, LLC is located at 631 Penn Avenue, West Reading, PA. You can contact them the following ways:

Ady Abreu was hard at work in her West Reading bakery Monday morning, just hours after celebrating her “Cupcake Wars” victory at a party held in her honor at Viva Bistro & Tapas Lounge in Wyomissing.

Normally closed on Mondays, Ady’s Cakes opened during the afternoon with a special offering – a four-pack containing one cupcake of each flavor that she created for “Cupcake Wars,” a Food Network baking-competition show.

The Food Network‘s popular show “Ace of Cakes” will be airing its final season in 2011. The show has had a long run and “Ace of Cakes” star Duff Goldman may be continuing his association with the Food Network.

Upper Pottsgrove Township native Geoffrey Manthorne stars on “Ace of Cakes” and also works as Executive Sous Chef at Charm City Cakes in Baltimore which is owned by Goldman.

Everybody’s favorite ex-con, Martha Stewart, evidently doesn’t like Rachael Ray. In a recent interview Martha trashes Rachael’s new cookbook and her cooking skills!! Martha further goes on to say Rachael is more of “an entertainer” than a bitch teacher like her.

Rachael, of course, took the high road…no real surprise there and deferred to Martha’s superior skills. Even going as far as to say she would rather eat one of Martha’s meals than her own. Class act Rachael!

See Martha, you don’t have to be a bitch shrew to succeed in life.

Rachael’s audience is not the same target group as Martha’s. Rachael has never pretended to be anything other than the person she is. She shows busy people how to make decent meals fast. Rachael isn’t making pastry chef level creations or decorating her house in intricate oragami ornaments for Christmas.